TROY, Ala. – Despite getting an early run in the first inning, the Dolphins closed out the 2017 Trojan Classic with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the hosts, Sunday afternoon.

"We have to learn how to beat teams that we are equally matched with," said Head Coach Jennifer Steele. "When we have an opportunity to put a team away who we are equally matched with, we need to do it and we were unable to do that this weekend."

The Dolphins finished 2-3 on the weekend and move to 6-5 overall.

Jacksonville loaded the bases early in the top of the first when Allie McCourt, Madison Ragan, and Heather Roberts all saw ball four to get on base. Kristen Griffith then drove McCourt home to get JU on the board in the first. The bottom of the frame saw Troy knot the game at 1-1 after a throwing error allowed a Trojan runner home.

Solid Dolphin defense highlighted the bottom of the third as Ciara Jones caught two moon shots out in left field, including one near the warning track. Roberts added the final out after sprinting down the third base line near the Dolphin dugout to catch a foul ball.

The Trojans added two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to put the game out of reach. With runners on first and third, Kaylee Hussey hit a shot to center field to plate Erica Davis and give the Trojans a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Later with two outs, Trojan leadoff hitter Becca Hartley drove the ball up the middle to plate Madeline Porter before Bethany Kursch threw Grace Mirly out at third to get the Dolphins out of the inning down two, 3-1. The Trojans added two more runs in the next inning on a Meg Willis homer over the center field wall to give Troy a 5-1 advantage.

"We didn't take advantage of offensive opportunities early," added Steele. "We had runners in scoring positions early and were unable to push a run across. Taylor [Thorpe] did a nice job starting the game and keeping their bats off balance, but as they made adjustments late in the game that's when you saw them explode for the extra runs."

Makenzie Buss had the Dolphins lone hit of the game, while Griffith had an RBI. McCourt and Baker had each stole a base and Taylor Thorpe falls to 3-1 on the mound.

The Dolphins return to Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex Saturday, Feb. 25 as they play host to North Carolina A&T and Akron for the 2017 Dolphin Invitational.